Police: Polk suspect arrested after 3 shooters tried to kill man

Kathy Leigh Berkowitz @kberkowitzthel1

Friday

Oct 18, 2019 at 2:08 PM

HAINES CITY — A Haines City man was arrested Thursday on charges of attempted murder after firing a gun at a man who was trying to take money to a family member near the area of 13th Street North and Avenue N in the city, according to police.

The Haines City Police Department said that Pedro Sotolongo, 26, was arrested after being identified as one of three people reported to have been shooting at the man. The victim is unnamed, the HCPD said, due to Marsy's Law.

Multiple 911 calls were received in the area around 1 p.m. Tuesday, with reports of 20 or more gunshots being fired, according to police. One suspect was reported by witnesses to have gotten out of an orange Dodge Charger and fired a rifle down the street before running toward the door of 2216 13th Street North. Police say the Charger was left running — parked partially in the driveway of the residence — and it was unknown where the suspect went at that point. When police ran the Charger's license plate, it came back registered to a rental company.

Two other suspects described by witnesses also were reported to have been shooting, but since the incident remains under investigation, details about those suspects have not been released by Haines City police.

The man told police that all three suspects were shooting directly at him — one of whom was firing an AK-47, according to reports. He said he was not sure which person had which gun, because the shooters were rapidly firing at him, the HCPD said, but the man told police he believed the suspects all were trying to kill him.

The man also told police this wasn't his first encounter with the shooters. He told police that a few months ago, the same suspects shot at him as he was driving his car on Avenue J in Haines City.

Three people came out of the house at 2216 13th Street N in Haines City, police said, but authorities described them as uncooperative and said they “denied consent to search the house." They also refused to tell police if anyone else was inside the home, according to reports.

Sotolongo is being held without bond at the Polk County Jail. The shooting is still under investigation, police said.

Kathy Leigh Berkowitz can be reached at kberkowitz@theledger.com or at 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @kberkowitzthel1.

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